"The isolation of Britain is over, for once and for all". The enthusiasm on both sides of the Canal was huge after Frenchman Louis Blériot managed to cross the waterway with his remarkable Blériot-XI-monoplane on July 25, 1909. The travel lasted 36 minutes.

Blériot's monoplane was to be the aircraft of the future. It consisted of ash wood, bamboo, steel pipes and a cloth prepared with rubber. Revolutionary was Blériot's use of wireless telegraphy to get weather reports. When the prospects turned out positive, Blériot decided to make the climb into the air from French town Calais. Just 36 minutes and 38 kilometers later, he landed in Northfall Meadow near Dover Castle in England. The British newspaper Daily Mail rewarded Blériot with a bonus of 1000 English pounds.